Rèn Surname

Surname Overview

The surname Ren (妊, Rèn) is one of China's earliest eight ancient surnames and is now rare, with fewer than one thousand people.

Reference: 妊姓，起源与人口-族谱网

Origins

Traditional Origins

One tradition traces the Ren surname to descendants of Fuxi's Feng surname. King Wu of Zhou enfeoffed these descendants in the Changqing area of Jinan, Shandong, where they established the state of Shi, later absorbed by Lu.

Reference: 【典籍里的汉字】趣说中华远古八大姓之 “妊”姓，和“任”姓是一回事吗？_后人_任姓_女人

Another Origin Tradition

Another account connects 妊 with 任 and says it was a surname bestowed by the Yellow Emperor on his son, with the Yellow Emperor's younger son Yuyang as the founding ancestor.

Reference: 妊姓，起源与人口-族谱网

Historical Records

Textual Attestations

The Zheng Tongzhi: Clan Records includes the Ren surname and records a theory that it arose from pregnancy; the Dictionary of Surnames, citing Cihai, identifies it as the surname of the Spring and Autumn state of Shi.

Reference: 妊姓_妊姓的来源和历史_百家姓

Research Notes

Relation to Ren (任)

Accounts differ on the relationship between 妊 and 任: one states that they are not of the same origin; another says that pre-Qin texts often omitted the 女 component and that 妊 was written as 壬 and also 任.

Reference: 【典籍里的汉字】趣说中华远古八大姓之 “妊”姓，和“任”姓是一回事吗？_后人_任姓_女人